Half of high school students who carried a weapon took that weapon to school

10% of high school students had carried a weapon on school property in the past month

The 1995 Youth Risk Behavior Survey found that 10% of high school students said that in the past 30 days they had carried a weapon (e.g., gun, knife, or club) on school property. This is half the overall proportion of students (20%) who reported carrying a weapon anywhere in the past month. For all grade levels, males were more likely than females to report carrying weapons on school property.

In a year, 1 in 12 high schoolers were threatened or injured with a weapon at school

In the year prior to the survey, 8% of high school students had been threatened or injured with a weapon on school property. Given that 10% of students reported carrying a weapon to school in a one-month period, it appears that most weapon carrying is not for "threatening or injuring" others on school property. Males were more likely than females to have been threatened or injured with a weapon at school (11% vs. 6%).

Fear of school-related violence kept 5% of high schoolers home at least once in the past month

Nationwide, 5% of students said that they had missed at least one day of school in the past month because they had felt unsafe at school or when traveling to or from school. Non-Hispanic black (8%) and Hispanic students (8%) were more likely to feel unsafe than non-Hispanic white students (3%). The relationship between weapon carrying at school and fear of going to school is unclear. Students may feel unsafe because there are weapons at school or they may carry weapons because they feel unsafe.